By Nicholas DeSouza | CHA
Setting the Foundation
On a humid afternoon in August 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. looked out from the high steps of the Lincoln Memorial across a sea of more than a quarter-million people. Soon enough, the words he spoke into the microphones would be woven into the fabric of our Nation. Witnessing Dr. King proclaim his personal dream, one that envisioned a new American Dream of equality, was a then twenty-four-year-old Daniel J. Wuenschel, standing among the throngs gathered far along the National Mall. Dr. King’s message, firmly established in hope and unity, sparked a nation to turn against the tides of inequality. Little did anyone know Dr. King’s speech would also help spark a more internal flame by igniting Dan’s career in public service.
Building Dan’s Formwork
After serving in the United States Army, Dan went back to school to pursue a liberal arts degree at LaSalle College in Philadelphia. While there, he met another veteran named Miles Mahoney. Being older than most of their classmates, Miles and Dan soon became best friends. Miles graduated and pursued a master’s degree in sociology and became a champion of fair housing. To support his best friend, Dan attended demonstrations to support people of color moving into predominantly white neighborhoods. Miles also organized the local’s group trip to the 1963 March on Washington, which Dan attended. Standing side by side with Dan was Miles’ sister Margot, who would later become Dan’s wife. Dan jokes that the March on Washington was their first date. And so, in 1964, Miles was promoted from Dan’s best friend to brother-in-law.
With his college degree in hand and LaSalle in his rearview mirror, it was time for Dan to figure out what his career would be. Dan joined the faculty of a Catholic high school teaching English for a year and a half. He then moved on to become a case worker in the welfare department in North Philadelphia. After a year, Dan decided to go back to teaching as a Head Start Teacher in that newly created program. While working for this program, Dan took Philadelphia’s civil service exam and got a job creating city parks, primarily in North Philadelphia. Finally, Dan landed work in a special program for rehabilitating houses in a particular area of North Philadelphia and Kensington through the Code Enforcement Department. Dan loved his role as an administrative assistant, but due to concerns developed while at the department, he decided that it was time to move on.
Soon enough, Philadelphia’s “Housing Czar” Gordon Cavanaugh asked Dan to join his staff at the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation as the Deputy Director. The corporation was on the brink of bankruptcy, and 25% of the staff had to be laid off three weeks before Christmas. However, in his new role, Dan was instrumental in helping secure funding and loans to expand and continue to operate the corporation’s programs. They were able to develop nonprofit housing, apartment buildings, and single-family homes. In addition, they served as a ‘conduit’ for hundreds of totally rehabbed single family row-houses for the Philadelphia Housing Authority. Controversial at the time, Dan and the corporation sought to integrate some of the neighborhoods.
In the early 1970’s, Philadelphians elected the former Chief of Police, Frank Rizzo, as Mayor. One of Chief Rizzo’s campaign promises was to get rid of the ‘PINKO’ Housing staff! Dan–along with many other housing professionals, were forced to leave their jobs in what became known as the ‘Philadelphia Housing Diaspora’.
After his time at the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation, Dan was tasked with starting a nonprofit housing corporation in the state of New Hampshire. Drawing on his experiences in Philadelphia, he wanted to make sure that this nonprofit would be supported by the community, so he met with the Governor of New Hampshire. The Governor gave Dan his word that the administration was behind him, but a few months later that Governor lost in a primary election. The new Governor was not a proponent of subsidized housing, and with President Nixon’s hold on housing programs, Dan, with the odds stacked against him, lasted nearly a year before he decided to move on to greener pastures. Those greener pastures happened to be on the banks of the Charles River.
CHA’s Installing Reinforcement
Bob McKay, the head of the Citizens Housing and Planning Association, called Dan with an opportunity that would change his life. Mr. McKay stated that Harry Spence, who had just been appointed as the Executive Director of the Cambridge Housing Authority, was starting a new Planning and Development Department. Dan interviewed and was ultimately hired as its Director.
During the 1970s, the Cambridge Housing Authority was on the brink of receivership by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
There was an operational disarray, and properties were abandoned and boarded up. There was also growing resentment between residents and CHA staff, as residents reported not feeling safe on CHA properties. With a brand-new board appointed, as well as a young new Executive Director, Cambridge Housing wanted to turn a corner and change for the better.
About two years into leading the Planning and Development Department, Glenn French, the Director of Management of Cambridge Housing Authority, along with Executive Director Spence, approached Dan with the task of taking on the Management Department in addition to his role with Planning and Development. Dan accepted the challenge, and a few weeks later, the Northeast was hit with a fatal snowstorm of near-biblical proportion. Popularly known as “The Blizzard of ’78,” Boston got clobbered with more than 27 inches of snow across the area and winds that reached up to 83 miles per hour. The estimated cost of damages to the region was $520 million. With Dan absorbing the leadership role for the Management Department, he was responsible for the snow removal on CHA properties. Dan went to work on Monday morning of that brutally cold February week and did not return home until Friday evening.
Pouring the Organizational Concrete
In 1978, after Harry Spence’s departure from the Cambridge Housing Authority, Daniel J. Wuenschel became Executive Director. As the new ED., Dan’s priorities were to protect and continue Mr. Spence’s initiatives, while strengthening the Planning and Development Department. Dan also led with a “what is good for one, must be good for all” approach. To streamline maintenance efforts and help build relationships with residents, Dan decided to decentralize the agency and station staff directly at each property. Rehabbing the decaying inventory was also at the top of Dan’s priorities.
During his tenure as Executive Director, Dan faced a morale issue within the walls of the CHA. Some staff were not comfortable with some of the changes made during Harry Spence’s tenure. As Harry was ending his time with the CHA, he began to train Dan to take over and make the transition as seamless as possible. One of those tasks was negotiating with the Teamsters. Harry Spence created an offer that included a significant pay raise for the members. After Harry left, negotiations continued with Dan. Dan put Harry’s offer back on the table with the caveat that if the deal was not accepted, negotiations would start from scratch. After weeks and weeks of conversation, the Teamsters went on strike. Eighteen months later, CHA and the Teamsters struck a deal. The deal included an annual cost-of-living increase based upon employee performance evaluations. Throughout his entire tenure leading Cambridge Housing, Dan committed that his salary would not increase any more than the increases set forth in the contract.
Leveling the Portfolio
Part of Dan’s tenure involved efforts to redevelop Washington Elms Apartments, the midrise tower at Roosevelt Apartments, and Jefferson Park Apartments. Undertaking the redevelopment of these buildings was extremely important to the organizational health and trajectory of the Cambridge Housing Authority’s future. Dan insisted that staff solicit resident participation in their plans for development. Once again after contentious times, residents, staff, and other stakeholders came together in common interest.
Equally important, Dan was the visionary who saw the benefits to CHA as HUD introduced its Moving to Work Program. Cambridge Housing Authority became one of the first housing authorities in the nation to join the initiative. As one of the original 39 housing authorities, CHA continues to participate and benefit from being a Moving to Work (or “MTW”) agency. One program that especially benefited from MTW was the Workforce Program, which continues to expand and improve lives today and remains the leading initiative for CHA’s Resident Services Department.
Dan also spearheaded CHA’s development of the city’s former nursing home, Neville Manor, into both a 71-unit, mixed-income assisted living facility and Neville Center, a 112-bed skilled nursing facility. He also secured a HOPE VI grant to rehabilitate the John F. Kennedy Apartments, a 69-unit affordable housing complex for seniors, resulting in CHA’s first foray into the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. CHA’s experience with LIHTC at John F. Kennedy Apartments, as part of the HOPE VI program, provided the necessary skills and expertise for CHA to employ the LIHTC program for the completion of over $800 million of work since 2010.
In addition to managing the early renewal of CHA’s public housing portfolio, Dan also oversaw the inception and rapid growth of CHAs Section 8 program. At the time of Dan’s retirement, CHA was administering over 2,300 vouchers. Under Dan’s leadership, CHA expanded the project-based voucher component of that program to support the development of new affordable housing in Cambridge, serving as an instrumental partner for numerous non-profit affordable housing developers. It also allowed CHA to use CHA controlled nonprofits to fund the development of 220 new units of deeply affordable housing.
Finishing the Surface
Nearly half a century has passed since Dan’s first day at Cambridge Housing Authority, yet his work and legacy remain at the core of our agency’s mission. CHA still participates in the Moving to Work Program, creating programs that positively impact resident’s lives, such as Pathways to Permanent Housing, CHA’s FSS+ Program, the Housing Choice Voucher Program, and the Workforce College Savings Program, just to name a few. The Workforce Program has now raised an endowment of $2.7 million and has successfully assisted approximately 365 students toward academic achievement since its inception. This past year, the CHA Workforce Program celebrated its 40th anniversary.
Affordable housing modernization and development have become Cambridge Housing Authority’s claim to fame. Not only has the CHA completed the revitalization of most of its portfolio, including Millers River Apartments, Burns Apartments, Manning Apartments, Jackson Gardens, Lincoln Way, Lyndon B. Johnson Apartments, Jefferson Park State Apartments, and Truman Apartments, but it is now consulting for the revitalization and modernization of other housing authorities’ portfolios, such as Medford, Brockton, and Lewiston, Maine. As Executive Director, Dan also helped CHA staff refine their crafts and expand their expertise, including staff who went on to become Executive Directors of other housing authorities across the country.
As CHA’s Executive Director, Dan was responsible for overseeing the production of over 700 additional units of deeply affordable housing in more than 15 different locations within the City of Cambridge. During Dan’s tenure the CHA’s work received local and national recognition, including the 1986 Governor’s Design Award, the 1989 Massachusetts Historical Commission’s Preservation Award, the 1990 Ford Foundation/Harvard University Innovations in State & Local Government Award, and a 1998 Boston Society of Architects’ Citation for Urban Planning. Dan also co-founded the National Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (commonly known as “CLPHA”). He became the first president of CLPHA and served his term for six years, during which time CLPHA became the premier industry group representing large housing authority interests at the national level.
Setting and Protecting Dan’s Legacy
Which brings us to today. The Cambridge Housing Authority’s acquisition of 116 Norfolk Street coincided with Dan’s arrival at our agency. He worked to obtain state approval to add 116 Norfolk Street to CHA’s portfolio to serve as congregate housing for elders and people with disabilities. During the Cambridge Housing Authority Board meeting on February 12, 2025, it was voted that the newly revitalized 116 Norfolk Street Apartments should and would be renamed the Daniel J. Wuenschel Building, affectionately known as “Dan’s Place.” The building rededication and renaming ceremony is set to take place in June 2025, officially cementing “Dan’s Place” in the history of CHA and the City of Cambridge.